Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Ed Sikov Gets Wilder

There I was in the back part of a San Francisco bookstore. Because of him, I let loose a moan of total delight. The year was 2011, the year I relocated to, lived in and attempted to find employment in San Francisco. My best friend from college and I had just finished having coffee and a light breakfast in Jane, an eatery on Fillmore Street. We then went to the bookstore right next door to browse for a few minutes before he went off the prepare for work and I went off to continue my pursuit of work. I wander to the back section where the movie books were and there I saw SCREWBALL written by Ed Sikov. What a wonderful sight to see. I hadn't seen Ed since we lived fairly close to each other in Manhattan and he was researching the film history book about this intoxicating classic movie genre.

Life has returned me to the New York area. Here, Ed and I reunited. A noted film historian and a solid journalist, he interviewed me about the huge diversity issue dust-up following the lack of racial diversity in this year's top Oscar nominations. It was great to talk to him about Hollywood's diversity issues, issues that needed to be addressed, and it's been great to see him again. If you want to read the interview Ed did of me, follow the link at the end of this post.

Two highly-regarded film critics have new hardcover books out. One film is A.O. Scott who writes for the New York Times. The other is Owen Gleiberman who wrote for Entertainment Weekly. I just wanted to remind you classic film devotees of books authored by Ed Sikov. They'd make terrific additions to your library and you'll increase your classic film knowledge a lot. Ed is one of those lucky film lovers who got to meet the master -- director, writer and producer Billy Wilder. One of his best books is about the man who gave us masterpieces such as Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, The Apartment and Some Like It Hot.

Ed definitely gets Wilder. Not only did Ed write ON SUNSET BOULEVARD: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BILLY WILDER, he did the commentary for the DVD.

Wilder trivia: Can you name three Billy Wilder films that have a guy named Sheldrake? Sunset Boulevard (played by Fred Clark), The Apartment (played by Fred MacMurray) and Kiss Me, Stupid (played by Mel Blanc).

Need a few laughs? Read Ed's LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY: AMERICAN SCREEN COMEDY OF THE 1950s.

There are others. I just wanted to introduce you to some of Ed's work -- work that is worth buying and reading. These are excellent resource books for aspiring actors, directors, screenwriters and film journalists. If you want to be in the film-related business, make film history a vital part of your homework. It can only help.

I'm extremely grateful to Ed for his interview time and attention. I'm not a big national TV star but I've managed to work on national TV over the years. It's always a huge honor to me when someone remembers my work -- and Ed remembers it. I pray I'll have more work for him to remember. Here's the interview:gaycitynews.nyc/unsinkable-bobby-rivers/.

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About Me

The New York Times hailed Bobby Rivers as "a master interviewer with a gift for banter" on his VH1 celebrity talk show in the late 1980s. Bobby Rivers has been a prime time talk show host, an ABC News movie critic and entertainment news contributor, a syndicated game show host and a Food Network host. Whoopi Goldberg picked him to be on her Premiere Radio weekday morning show in 2006. He's acted in national TV commercials and played a recurring comedy character for The Onion. A longtime SAG-AFTRA union member, he's proud to have been the first African-American to get a talk show on VH1 and also to be one of the few black performers who's been a weekly movie critic and film historian on network TV. On VH1, some of his guests were Kirk Douglas, Norman Mailer, Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, Ben Kingsley, Paul McCartney, Carlos Santana, Omar Sharif, Patrick Swayze, Sally Field, cartoon voiceover legend Mel Blanc and Whoopi Goldberg. Bobby Rivers grew up in South Central L.A., graduated from a high school in Watts and got a B.A. from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.